It is the time of the year once again when people all over the world gear up to celebrate the mystery and thrill of Halloween. For most people, it is simply a break from work and a holiday to spend with family and friends.
However, this is the much awaited season for those who are fascinated with horror stories about the undead and the paranormal things. Well, whether one believes in ghosts and in lost spirits, here are the top five creepiest places around the world and their stories that might just change one's mind.
So many horror stories have revolved around haunted and demonic dolls and the most famous of which are probably Annabelle and Chuckie. However, in Lake Teshuilo in Xochimilco, Mexico City, there exist several actual haunted dolls? These dolls are located in La Isla de la Munecas or "The Island of Dolls." Legend has it that the dolls are possessed by the spirit of a young girl who drowned in the lake in the 1920s. The dolls were brought to the island by Julian Santan Barrera, a man who lived in the island. He first brought the dolls as presents for the little girl, but eventually, the time came when he had to give his life as well. Barbara was found dead in the same spot where the girl drowned.
From Mexico, we move to Australia's most haunted location. The Monte Cristo Homestead in Junee, New South Wales, built in 1885 was the property owned by the Crawley family. This was the site of many deaths including one that involved a child dropped down the staircase, a stable boy burned to death and a family maid that fell from the balcony. However, after the house was rented out, one of its caretakers was murdered while another one went insane and was found lying beside the body of his dead mother. Talk about the place of the damned, this place is definitely one for the books.
In a 125 year old hotel in Alberta, Canada, an apparition of a bride dancing in the ballroom with the train of her dress on fire is said to be haunting the picturesque Banff hotel. The bride was said to have fallen down the stairs during her wedding day because her gown had caught fire. She broke her neck and this led to her untimely death. However, the bride is not the only one haunting the hotel, its former bellman Sam Macauley who served in the 1960s and 1970s still appears up to this day, assisting guests to their rooms. His apparition disappears when people try to talk to him or give him a tip, one could just imagine how frightening it would be if he talked back.
Asia also has its fair share of haunted grounds, and one of which is the Old Changi Hospital in Singapore. The hospital was once a military base for the Kempeitai or Japanese Secret Police in 1935, where a lot of torture took place. When World War II ended, it was converted into a hospital until the 1990s. Apparitions of prisoners, Japanese soldiers and patients still haunt the building, and up to this day, one can still hear their screams for help.
A countdown of scary places is not complete without a cemetery, and there is no other cemetery that will give a person the creeps but High Gate Cemetery in North London, England. The place is full of gothic architecture, with numerous headless statues and creaky paths. It secures a top slot in the U.K.'s most haunted. The deafening silence is only broken by the hooting of owls. The place remains a top choice of ghost hunters.
